Stanford appeared in a Houston court along with three co-accused to face the charges arising out of a decade-long investment scam allegedly run out of the offices of the Stanford International Bank on the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Asked how he pled, Stanford, handcuffed and dressed in a prison orange jumpsuit, said outright: "Not guilty." He could face up to 250 years if convicted on all charges.

In a 57-page indictment, the US Department of Justice alleged the scam started in September 1999 and continued until about February 17 this year, attracting some 30,000 investors from across the world.

Certified fraud examiner Jeffrey Ferguson, working for the court-appointed receivers, told the court Thursday that as of February Stanford's company owed clients 5.4 billion dollars.

There was also another 1.18 billion missing, which could not be accounted for.